[pokey]

Hi escapefromny!

Four months ago, I had never laid eyes on a schematic or held a soldering iron. With lots of reading/YouTubing, trial and error, and much help from patient Phorum members, I've now replaced all the capacitors in my Philco (similar to yours) and can find my way around its circuit with some degree of confidence.

Generally, I've found that the info geared toward "beginners" tends to assume a baseline level of knowledge that I completely lacked when starting out (and still lack, actually). Don't let that discourage you. Enjoy the process of discovery, go ahead and ask the "dumb" questions, and take it slow. Every time you figure something out, two new mysteries emerge! Little by little, things start to click together.

For the capacitors and resistors, I've ordered from justradios.com and have been happy with the service. I would advise buying a kit. If you tell them the radio you're working on they'll point you to the right kit, probably $99 (shipping is free). That may seem like a lot to spend all at once but it's worth it.